Mariko Anzai
'''Mariko Anzai' (安斉 麻理子 Anzai Mariko) is a character in the ''Parasite Eve'' novel. She is portrayed by Ayako Omura in the film adaptation. ''Parasite Eve'' (novel) Mariko was a 14 year old girl who needed to have a kidney transplant due to an illness. She first received one when she was 12, but stopped taking her medicine as other students called her "a monster" and bullied her as she had someone else's organ; this made her body reject the kidney, having to remove it due to infection. After Kiyomi Nagashima became brain dead and died, Mariko was the candidate to receive Kiyomi's kidney. With the assistance of Takashi Yoshizumi, the operation was a success, but Mariko later complained about feeling weird and "hot", due to Kiyomi's advanced mitochondria now dwelling in her. Mariko then became the candidate to birth the Ultimate Being so the mitochondria began to change her uterus in order for her body to become compatible. This caused Mariko to start to have mini panic attacks, usually shouting and screaming out "it called to me, it's inside my stomach". Her doctor would later connect this to Kiyomi and to Toshiaki Nagashima's research. Mariko survives at the end of the book. Differences between film and novel In the novel, Mariko is "raped" by Eve and gives birth to the Ultimate Being, which is later destroyed. But in the film Mariko never gave birth, as this was thought to be "too disturbing" to put on film and was cut out. Instead, Eve simply began to prepare her for the birth; however, before that could be accomplished, both Kiyomi/Eve and Toshiaki embrace in a lover's suicide and Mariko was spared from giving birth. Mariko survives in both versions. Parasite Eve (video game) Mariko, though not appearing in the game, is mentioned by Kunihiko Maeda when detailing the events of the novel. She is referred to as the young girl who received Kiyomi's kidneys and gave birth to the Ultimate Being.Parasite Eve, Day Two: Fusion "So after the accident, her kidneys were transplanted into a young girl... And Eve implanted a fertilized egg in the young girl who gave birth to...an Ultimate Being. I was extremely interested in this and went to his lab so that I could continue research." Mariko Brea It is mentioned in the Parasite Eve video games that the mother of Aya Brea and Maya Brea was named Mariko Brea. There has been debate and uncertainty over whether or not Mariko Brea is a separate character meant to be an homage to Mariko Anzai, or the video game adaptation of Mariko Anzai with a surname change, likely due to marriage. * If Mariko Brea is a separate individual, then it leads to a plot hole as to where Maya's neo-mitochondria came from, and one must assume it is a coincidence two Japanese women with the name Mariko became associated with Eve uprisings. * If Mariko Anzai and Mariko Brea are the same, then it leads to a plot hole regarding date inconsistencies (as Mariko Anzai would be too young to be the mother of a 25-year-old woman in 1997 when Mariko Anzai is supposed to have been a 14-year-old in the 1990s), although it is possible the developers used an altered history of the novel with a shifted timeline, or overlooked this timeline as a goof if they wanted Mariko Anzai to be Aya's mother. Her husband was a Caucasian journalist. Mariko Brea died with a cardiac arrest in the St. Francis Hospital in New York City along with Maya after a car accident on December 23, 1977. Before her death, Mariko made herself and Maya organ donors. According to Kunihiko Maeda, Mariko's organs couldn't be transplanted after the accident. The reason isn't specified, although it is possible Mariko's body was too injured in the accident. References Category:Characters Category:Novel characters